FRISCO, Texas – Rooftop Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is undergoing rehabilitation due to a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle that he suffered in October, but he is already thinking about next February and Super Bowl LVI.
“This is my plan, get a march in Dallas,” Prescott said on the day he officially signed the richest deal in Cowboys history: four years, $ 160 million and an NFL record of $ 66 million. “As a competitor you watch people celebrate, you watch people do what you want to do and there are not too many more things that light a fire under you than someone who has what you want. And every year we are not in the playoffs, or we did not make that run, it’s just more fire to it.
‘You throw there that I held my leg and did not have the chance to be out there while guys were doing what was taken away from me, I’m just excited to get out there and show you what this team can do The next big press conference we have is hopefully in another year after the big parade. So there you go. ‘
Prescott’s contract has been a story since the off-season in 2019 when he played the last year of his rookie contract for $ 2 million. It dragged on for the 2020 season when he played on the $ 31.4 million franchise label and finally ran out on Monday when the team and Prescott’s agent, Todd France, reached an agreement.
It took a while, but for owner and general manager Jerry Jones, it was worth it.
“From the beginning, we definitely said our future is at Roof,” Jones said. “We are very aware that the process we have been doing over the last few years, if you will, a conversation and maybe even a life of its own … Do not confuse it with how right we think this decision is and how much it from the beginning it was not there. It fits. “
Prescott said he could never have imagined leaving for another team.
“I’m excited to be here, to never go, and excited about what this organization, what this team, what he’s going to get from fans,” Prescott said. “I’m excited to just go do it and just know it’s my house, I’m not going away. I’m a Cowboy and it’s just the beginning.”
To make his Super Bowl dreams come true, Prescott still has work to do in his recovery. He was at The Star in Frisco, Texas, and was constantly working on his rehabilitation and he said he was progressing well. Prescott said a second operation performed in December had more to do with his long-term ability than dealing with the injury he sustained during the Week 5 victory over the New York Giants.
“I’m healthy,” Prescott said. “I will control what I can control. I will follow the doctor’s instructions all the time. Put my own work ethic in it. I’m healthy, I’m getting close. I’ll be ready if it matters.”
At the time of the injury, there was a recovery period of 4-6 months. The Cowboys begin their official off-season program in April and Prescott plans to take part in everything. He has said he will continue his off-season with John Beck, his quarterback coach at 3DQB.
However, Prescott has admitted that he needs to be ‘smarter’ in his field decision-making, especially when he’s running, like when he’s hurt against the Giants.
“Before I go back to high school, I’m told to be smarter when I want to demonstrate my physicality or when I want to try to make a point in the game or change the momentum. It’s not different. I have to be smarter , ”He said.“ With this investment, while my health is at stake at some point, it makes a lot more sense to me to be smarter and why people said that. I was in the day as a young bull very difficult to understand. Now, I mean with such a play, first off, you go down. You slide.
‘But to say that the game is going on, it’s a first discount or it’s the red zone and I’m going there, that’s who I am. I do not know if I can ever write it down. ‘
A big part of the negotiation between the Cowboys and France was the ability to have a headroom needed to add players around Prescott. With two void years on the contract, Prescott will count only $ 22.2 million against the salary cap this season and have the ability to restructure his contract in 2022, which could yield up to $ 15 million in the chamber.
On Wednesday, the Cowboys restructured the contracts of offensive linebackers Tyron Smith, Zack Martin and La’el Collins, according to a source about $ 17 million. That puts them under the guise of next week’s free period with the ability to make strategic signings, especially for a defense that awarded 473 points in 2020.
The Cowboys could also try to rework the offers for wide receiver Amari Cooper, the defensive end of DeMarcus Lawrence and the feedback of Ezekiel Elliott, to get more space than they want.
“We have the means to do what we have to do,” said Stephen Jones, executive vice president.
But the Cowboys believe Prescott, who is 42-27 as a starter and scores one playoff winner, will be their centerpiece.
“It’s not as simple as Roof winning, Jerry winning, and the Cowboys winning,” Jerry Jones said. ‘Let me tell you one thing: the Cowboys won today. They won today. And I’m excited about this future. And that’s what we’re all interested in – the future. ‘
At one point at Wednesday’s news conference, the Joneses were asked if they felt they had the best team in the NFC East after signing Prescott again.
The quarter intervened with a quick yes in between.
“I think this partnership says it, doesn’t it? It secures their faith in me, and as I said, as a man who lives by faith, just knowing that you have a family, an organization that wants “” because you’re at the forefront, go do it, that’s all, ‘Prescott said.’ Because I want to give them everything they want, everything they’ve invested in. If I manifest it, if I put everything in, it will be at the back. I’m just excited to be in front of it, and we’ll all celebrate when it bears fruit. ‘